【推荐1】Long Island Things to Do

Forest Walk

Experience the benefits of early spring and fresh air at Planting Fields. Qualified guide, Linda Lombardo leads a walk throughout the grounds that encourages observation and connection with your natural surroundings, 10 a.m.— noon May 15, $40, plantingfields.org, 1395 Planting Fields Rd., Oyster Bay, $8 parking fee.

Line Dance Class

Learn line dance moves like dragging-leg and kickball change among others, beginners class starts at 7 p.m., secondary class starts at 8 p.m., led by Marianne Taylor, email for more information, 7 p.m.— 9:30 p.m. May 18, American Legion Post 144, 730 Willis Ave., Williston Park, $15, licma.org/dance-instruction.html, 516-557-3384.

Full Moon Night Hike

Take an evening hike through the forest up to North Pond and look and listen for night creatures while enjoying some night vision activities under the light of the moon. Reservations required 24 hours before taking the hike, as space is limited. A program for adults and families with children over 9, run by Bon Jovi, 8 — 9:30 p.m. May 27, $20, 3 Old Country Rd., Quogue, quoguewildliferefuge.org, 631-653-4771.

Astronomy Day

Sid Jacobson, an astronomy educator, gives free earth science and astronomy lectures for adults and children. Toolkits (软件包)for the lectures are developed and shared nationwide by the National Informal STEM Education Network, 10 a.m. — 2 p.m. May 15, Vanderbilt Museum, 180 Little Neck Rd., Centerport, vanderbiltmuseum.org, $10, $7 younger than 12, 631-854-5579.

【推荐1】New psychological thriller Curses of Cousins is a fascinating novel, mixing real-world issues with a fictional investigation to uncover the truth behind an island nation’s misfortunes.

It is set in the fictitious Caribbean island of Sigatoo and follows a young teacher called Brooklyn as she sets out on a personal pursuit to end the community’s traditional practice of intermarriage between cousins.

This custom, as we discover, is the reason that many families, including her own, suffer from a range of incurable illnesses—the “curse” referred to in the book’s title which hurts not only the lead character, but the rest of her immediate relations.

With a sharp intelligence and natural curiosity into the ‘whys’ behind things, Brooklyn wants to clear up the misunderstanding of the curse, which has made generations of islanders suffer since Sigatoo’s original settlement, and let the light of reason shine down to save future generations from the same health problems.

This, however, is going to be anything but easy. As she quickly learns, discovering the truth is only the first obstacle. The challenge will lie in getting the misogynistic (歧视女性的), immoral island leaders to back her, and the families that have been brought up to consider intermarriage between cousins as perfectly acceptable to change their ways.

All of this she must do while being in great pain because of her MS, and having to live with a series of tragedies, including losing her baby daughter and twin sister to cruel genetic diseases.

And if that isn’t enough, there’s also a metaphysical battle—literally between manifestations (显示) of good and evil—spreading in her mind. In one corner is VOD, an evil creature who teases Brooklyn and tries to lead her away from her important social mission. On the other side is Chutzpah, the representation of purity and all that is noble within the human spirit.

Brooklyn, however, is a fighter and is only strengthened by each new disaster to push on harder with her campaign to educate the islanders about the dangers of interbreeding.

What raises Curses of Cousins, however, is that the author, Cliff Bacchus, a practising doctor based in the Bahamas, is, like Brooklyn, on a mission. The unusual theme for the story—it is the first time this topic has been handled in fiction—is based on his own research and experiences with patients who have been the unfortunate victims of the practice of cousin intermarriage. His purpose is admirable. As a doctor, he wishes to warn readers of the risks that come with the practice, wherever they are in the world.

Today, I would like to recommend a book to you, which taught me an important lesson about prejudice and racism.     1     The story is set in Alabama in the southern US, where the author grew up.

The main character in this novel is a lawyer named Atticus Finch from the American South. The American South in the 1960s was known to be a place where many white people looked down upon black people, except for Finch. When the local judge asked him to defend a black man named Tom Robinson, who was wrongly accused of raping a white woman, Finch agreed.     2     Still, Finch fought to discover the truth, even though he was under threat. He proved that Robinson is innocent (清白的). As Finch’s son Jem and daughter Scout grew up, they started to see more racial prejudice around them.     3    

The author Lee was born in Monroeville, Alabama in 1926. In her childhood, she, like Scout and Jem, learned about racial prejudice and the damage it could do. To Kill a Mockingbird was her first and only novel published.     4    

For me, the most memorable quotes in the book are “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but… sing their hearts out for us.     5    ” The description of childhood innocence in the story through Scout and Jem is connected with the dark evils of prejudice in the town, which provides a dramatic contrast and enables you to understand how dangerous racism and prejudice are. I want to recommend this book because it contains slightly complex and interesting sentence structures. It is a book that you will never forget.